Peanut allergy affects about 1% percent of children in the United States, and the prevalence of this disease has increased dramatically in the past 20 years. Because peanuts and other food based allergies are pervasive, and reactions can occur to even minute quantities, these types of allergies pose substantial risks to individual health, and have significant negative impact on individual quality of life. Such allergies are typically life-long with a resolution rate of only about 20%. Avoidance of the allergens and treatment of accidental exposures have been the mainstays of therapy for allergic patients.
Allergen specific immunotherapy in the form of oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) have recently shown some promise, however with these therapies, the composition is in liquid form and must be held under the tongue for a specified period of time and then swallowing, or orally, with the product mixed with food or drink and swallowed.
Current methods of therapy using aqueous drops are not optimized either for practicality or efficiency. Currently, the maximal sublingual dose has been limited by both the ability to generate stable concentrated extracts and by the amount of liquid that can tolerably be held under the tongue by a subject. In addition, the amount of time that the allergen extract remains in the mouth is practically limited.
As such, there still exists an unmet need for improved methods of immunotherapy to treat food and other types of allergies.